


Dangan Ronpa the 4th: Party at Despair Mansion

by NatsuoftheDawn, NewtGirl



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hey yo we made a game/story, Literally nothing but OCs, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Interactive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-01-10 23:14:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12309921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatsuoftheDawn/pseuds/NatsuoftheDawn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NewtGirl/pseuds/NewtGirl
Summary: Many years have passed since the Tragedy, and Hope's Peak has made a rebound. This year, another sixteen talented students will attend, but every class needs a class trip.Too bad many of them wouldn't be coming back.Now accepting votes for Free Time Events





	1. The Mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: Both me and Natsu have other things we should be doing, but...we're not doing them. Have a project we've been working on in private for the last...God, I don't even know.
> 
> Natsu: I don’t know how we even got this project started, earliest I can remember was trying to figure out names during (a rather boring) class around....maybe a year ago? Like I said, I’m not too sure myself. I’ve always wanted to do a collab with my best friend and this is the results. We really like how the story is going to unfold, and I hope you do too.

There were a lot of rumors that surrounded the mansion at Hope’s End. Many missing person’s reports, many strange sounds at night. Stories of how people had gone inside, never to be heard from again.

Of course, being high schoolers, we decided to check it out.

To be fair, it was less me and more Sal’s idea. She was the one that dragged me out of my tent at two in the morning to go check out a mansion she’d heard about in the area. I still don’t know why she’s my only friend so far at Hope’s Peak.

Sal, the taller girl currently holding her heavy trench coat over our heads to block out the light rain, was an exchange student from...actually, I’m not sure where. I don’t even know her last name, or hell, even her real first name. There were always a lot of question around her, but I think she likes it that way. Either way, one thing I can say for certain is that she’s the Ultimate Translator, with one hell of a knack for picking up languages. Apparently when she got accepted to Hope’s Peak she learned conversational Japanese in only a few weeks. Hell, it was impossible just listening to her to tell that she was foreign, even if her long chestnut hair and tanned skin said otherwise. 

What she’d picked up even faster was our friendship. The two of us sat at the front of the room together, closest to the door. I’d intended to just keep my head low for the school year, but Sal would trap me into a conversation about anything before I could bail through the door. Before I knew it, she was the only friend I had.

Me? I’m not entirely sure why that’s important, but...I’m Noriko Kobayashi. I was accepted into Hope’s Peak as the Ultimate Archer, but I don’t think I’m really that good. Yeah, I’ve won a few competitions, but there’s always someone out there that’s better than me. Somehow my talent was good enough to get the attention of Hope’s Peak Academy. A school where they say you’re guaranteed to succeed in life as soon as you graduate. If all things go swimmingly, I could end up competing in the Olympics.

But that isn’t relevant to the current situation. While it is a school for gifted children, we’re still children through and through, going to school like normal kids. Going to school usually means field trips and whatnot along with learning in the classroom. For some reason, they thought a camping trip to the forest would further our education. It doesn’t help that our teacher was a former girl scout, so the woods are basically her second home. By the luck of this year’s Luckster or not, it just so happens to be the woods that lead to Hope’s End. Sixteen teenagers plus a ‘haunted’ mansion and what do you get? A courage test of all things. Or at least, that’s what Sal said it was when she picked me as her test buddy.

We didn’t expect it to start raining on us, but Sal had thrown open her coat to keep us relatively dry. It wasn’t the best, but as the front porch of a rotting old mansion came in sight it didn’t need to hold up for too long.

“Yo, Nori! Up ahead, you know?” Sal picked up the pace, leaving me to chase after her. 

“But Sal...what are you going to do?” I hadn’t been able to reply to her until we were under the wooden awning, both of us squatting down to avoid sitting on splintery planks. “You told me before that you’ll freeze to death without your coat keeping you warm, and it’s nearly soaked through…”

“Nothing to worry about, you know?” Sal waved a hand in front of her face, her bright burgundy eyes smiling just as widely as her mouth. “This coat’s a real designer work! One side’s waterproof, you know?”

“One side?” She stared at me for a second, like a computer processing.

“...Oh, my coat’s reversible too, you know? Even if it gets dirty, I can just turn it inside out!”

“But then your inner clothes will just get dirty too…” She didn’t act like she’d heard me, instead shaking out her coat and flipping it back over her shoulders. 

“Anyway, we made it, you know? This is Hope’s End! Let’s go check it out!”

“W-Wait, Sal!” I grabbed at her sleeve while her other arm reached for the rusted bronze doorknob. “Are you really sure about this? I mean...you’ve heard about this place. What if it really is that dangerous?”

Sal considered me for a second, before the grin spread across her lips again. “No way it’s that dangerous, Nori. It’s just a rotted old house, you know? Besides, I’m not making you go very far in. Just into the foyer!” How Sal knew the word ‘foyer’ was beyond me, but I didn’t have much time to think on it before she grabbed my sleeve in reverse and pulled us both bodily through the door. 

The smell was what hit me first. A stale, humid odor of rotting wood and dust, thick enough in the air that I nearly felt it hit my face. Sal next to me didn’t seem too fazed by it, shaking her head like a dog to scatter raindrops from her hair and looking around. 

The mansion...certainly looked like one. Right in front of us was a gigantic staircase, divided in two by a stone statue of a soldier pointing his sword at the ceiling. A massive pile of rubble was settled at the top of the first landing, making it impossible for us to reach any higher floors. The long red carpet draped over the steps was frayed and moth-eaten, and part of me knew stepping on it would drive a horde of insects out from under it. 

The foyer itself was rather barren, in comparison. A few vases sat around on rococo-style tables, though any plants they may have held had long died and rotted away. Another rug sat in the center of the floor, circular this time and with a story woven into the images. Images of men and women alike being boiled, eaten, or otherwise tortured. It was chilling. 

“This is…” Sal peered over at the rug, her brow furrowed. “...Yeah. It’s Dante’s Inferno. You know, the nine circles of Hell thing.” 

“Is this supposed to refer to this place?” I looked up through the stairwell, trying to make out how many times the stairs wrapped around. “...It only looks like there’s six floors, though.”

“Maybe the owner just had some weird fascination with this stuff, you know?” Sal shrugged, turning to look around. “...And we got two hallways. Wanna go check them out?”

“...No.” I shook my head, hugging my arms around my sides. “I’ve seen enough. Let’s get out of here, Sal.” 

“What? Are you kidding?” Her voice reached a whine as she pouted at me. “We’ve only been here for like, two minutes, and you’re already done?” 

“Yes, I am!” I turned on my heel, ignoring Sal’s protests. “There’s something wrong about this place, and I don’t want to stick around to find out what that is!” 

But when my hand dropped on the doorknob, it didn’t turn. “...Huh?” I jiggled it a bit. Nothing.

“What?” Sal came up behind me, simply watching me turn the knob to no avail. “...Is it stuck?”

“No, I think it’s locked…” Worry boiled up the back of my throat. “See? If it was just stuck, the doorknob would at least turn…” 

“Oh, you’re just weak, Nori.” She bumped me to the side with her hip, confident smile on her lips. “Watch the master!”

It didn’t open for her either. _"Porca vacca!"_

“See? I told you.” Seeing Sal fail as well did little to alleviate my fear. “...I think we’re locked in.” 

“Locked in? Nori, doors don’t work like that, you know?" She knocked her fist against it, more to reinforce her point than to knock it down. “Have you ever seen a door that locks behind you?” 

“Well, no, but…” 

“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s probably just the humidity outside making the wood in the door swell up, you know? When the rain stops, it’ll open up.” With a yawn, Sal dropped where she stood, pulling her coat off her arms to drape it over her shoulders instead. “Anyway, let’s just nap in the meantime. Nothing’s gonna happen to us, promise!” 

Even if it was my best friend saying that, I couldn’t bring myself to trust it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: So yes, this is Noriko and Sal. Don't worry, they aren't the only kids who will be in this killing game. Give it time...or one more chapter. 
> 
> Natsu: Hopefully we’ll get the next chapter done and properly introduce everyone else sooner rather than


	2. Introductions, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One could call this a series of unfortunate events, but that's probably copyrighted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: I only get writing done when I am in immense pain. I fail to see the correlation, really. Please enjoy.
> 
> Natsu: We pulled a late nighter trying to get these ducks in a row. Good thing sleep is for the weak, or else nothing would get done.

The two girls who went first have been gone for quite some time. The time limit for each group is thirty minutes. It’s been almost an hour now. 

With the rain having let up, Hayato Kaneshoto kept his head down as he followed after a pair of footprints leading away into the woods. Just because he was the Ultimate Hunter, he’d been signed up for the job of hunting down the two idiots who wandered off too far. 

Sighing out his teeth, he took off his flat cap and shook it out, though he knew with this humidity it wouldn’t dry so easily. Of course, he had to get paired up with someone due to that stupid ‘buddy system’, and who else would end up joining him but- 

“Hey, Hayato! I found some more tracks over here!” With his brow wrinkled, he looked back at the girl accompanying him, her strawberry blonde hair still damp from the rain. How it still managed to form those ram horns at her temples was beyond him.

“Rin, those are ours.” 

“...Oh.” Even if she was the Ultimate Luckster, Rin Miura was all but useless in most situations. Still, Rin was determined to stick with the pairs Sal had outlined and was tagging along with him, choosing to ignore his complaints. Why would he need luck, anyway? He was the Ultimate Hunter, after all. This wasn’t his first time trekking around a field without a travel aid of any kind. Besides, working with a partner did nothing but slow him down.

On his own, Hayato could track two missing people with his eyes closed. Those two girls probably went off the trail to do some private rendezvous and would turn up in an hour or so. If the teacher didn’t do her job in scolding them, he was more than willing to pick up the slack.

“...Eh? Hayato, what’s that?” He briefly glanced up, not expecting anything actually worth his time, but the towering shadow of an old mansion proved him wrong. 

That’s right, this was Hope’s End. The location where the louder of the two missing girls had insisted would be perfect for a courage test before pairing the remaining students off without input and dragging the archer off into the woods. This was probably where they were.

“Rin, we’re going inside.” The Luckster let out a nervous laugh but didn’t argue, trotting after him up the rotting steps. 

Unsurprisingly, the two he’d been looking for were passed out right inside, backs leaned up against the wall and Sal’s trenchcoat thrown over them both as a makeshift blanket. “Oi, you two! Wake up already!”

The smaller archer startled awake at his yell, her hands frantically going over herself to make sure everything was where it should be, even grabbing onto her two low-hanging pigtails. The translator was slower in stirring, not jolting at all and instead blinking one maroon eye open in mild annoyance. “Aw man, just when I got comfortable. It’s not easy settling in against wallpaper, you know?” 

“You made everyone panic over nothing and you’re in here taking a nap? Get up already, we need to get back.” Sal blinked at him, her eyes trailing over behind him even as Noriko continued to fuss. Was she counting the arrows in her quiver?

“Well, that won’t be happening.” Hayato quirked an eyebrow at her, turning around to face the door. Rin was at the knob, jiggling it as hard as her slim arms could. 

“H-Hayato, the door’s stuck!” He scoffed, lightly pushing her aside by the shoulder and rearing a leg back. One good kick would take care of it. 

Three kicks later, and nothing. “The hell is this door made of?” 

“Ghosts, probably.” Sal hadn’t moved from her spot, yawning and adjusting her coat over her as Noriko stood up without her. “That’s why we didn’t go back ourselves, you know? Anyway, we’ll just have to wait for the next pair to get here.”

“Alone with you three? Geez…” Hayato snarled, angrily stomping over to the banister of the stairs and settling himself down. Noriko was fine, but the other two he could definitely do without. Rin didn’t seem to mind that much, and with a mewling noise dove under Sal’s coat for warmth. 

 

~

 

“...If they followed the river, they’ll eventually end up in civilization! That’s what  _ Little House on the Prairie _ promised!”

“I’m not sure if they’re the kind to read western literature.”

Another duo of girls walked merrily down next to a riverbed. Minako Miyaguchi, the short Ultimate Librarian, insisted that it would help them trace their steps since they’re only going in one direction. Her hand would hold onto Chinatsu’s, the Ultimate Shrine Maiden, every time she walked over a pile of rocks. She didn’t  _ really _ need her hand, but the rocks are still slippery after that little bout of rain that passed by. It would almost feel like a date, if it wasn’t for the fact they were looking for two of their classmates that had gone missing somewhere in the woods. Before the rest of the class split up to look for them, Chinatsu performed a prayer to ensure the missing pair will be found safe and unharmed.

They’d been walking alongside this river for almost half an hour without anything eventful occurring. Every now and then Minako would point out whatever swam by them in the river and talk a little bit about it. 

Eventually, the river started to split into two. The two were unsure of which path to take when suddenly a loud slamming noise echoed through the trees. Chinatsu shrieked at the sudden noise and clung to Minako’s shoulders.

“W-What was that?” she yelled. 

“I don’t know! But it sounded like it came from over there...” Minako said as she pointed to an opening in the trees. At the edge of the clearing, they could see the top half of the infamous Hope’s End mansion. They were behind the mansion, and the source seemed to be coming from the front. As the two rounded the corner, they could’ve sworn the front door was moving.

“ _ Oi, Hayato! Give it a break already, you know? You’re giving me a headache...” _

_ “The wood is so old. It should’ve at least splintered by now!” _

Minako gasped upon the realization that those voices belonged to her classmates. She rushed up to the front porch, despite her girlfriend’s protests. Her little hands scrambled over the rusted bronze doorknob, prepared to open it gently but not expecting the small blur of brown that stumbled over his own feet and fell down the porch stairs. Chinatsu was just a foot away from where the tiny hunter fell; she leaned down to help him, but he brushed her hands away and stood on his own with a curse.

“H-Hayato!” The librarian didn’t realized how much that scared her until she spoke. “What were you doing in there?”

“I didn’t want to be there!” Hayato responded, quickly patting the dirt off his clothes. Minako turned her head to the inside of the somewhat illuminated interior to see the duo they were looking for as well as Hayato’s partner, curled up in a fetal position. A jolt of fear went down her spine at the sight; was Rin okay? Her childhood friend was always the reckless sort, and it wasn’t out of the question that she’d gone and hurt herself. Her body moved forward without thinking it; she barely even noticed the door closing behind her as she headed over to Rin. The missing duo yelled at her to stop what she was doing, but the door was already shut. Thankfully it hadn’t locked itself again, as it was opened back up by Hayato...only for the relief quickly dissipate as he was pushed forward by the tall shrine maiden making her way in to catch up to her girlfriend. 

The door clicked shut once again before Hayato could stand back up properly. 

“This is just great,” he grumbled. “I should’ve bailed and got the others.” 

“You’re worrying too much, Hayato,” Sal slurred, still leaning up against the railing of the staircase. “We still have…” She briefly counted on her fingers. “...five more groups left to get here. No way they’ll all end up getting locked in here, you know?” 

“But Sal,” Rin whined, “it’s freezing in here! I’m gonna turn into an ice block before Rei and Sho get here!”

“Wear actual pants then,” Noriko responded tiredly. She was seated on the bottom stair, her eyes half-open. 

“Nooo….” The strawberry blonde rolled over on the floor, still not having gotten up even when Sal took her coat back. “Pants are uncomfy! Bike shorts are so much better!” 

“How about my scarf?” Minako lifted the end of her muted green scarf, after settling down a fourth of the way up the staircase. “It’s not much, but I’m sure it’ll do until someone else comes.”

“Yooou’re the beeest…” She’d barely gotten the scarf off her neck before Rin swiped it from her, bunching it up and dropping it on Minako’s lap. There was no chance to be confused; Rin plopped her head on the makeshift pillow with a contented sigh, and Minako couldn’t help but smile at her. She’d said she was cold, but now she was tired; just an average day with the erratic Luckster. 

Minutes passed in silence around them. There was no clock here; even if there was, the batteries would’ve died by now. Chinatsu walked over to them and sat down next to her, a gentle smile on her face as she placed her hand on top of Minako’s. 

When they were together like this, Minako couldn’t even remember what fear felt like.

 

~

 

“My Lady! Is there anything I can do for you so this trip may be more comfortable?” He could stop shouting, first of all. 

It was cold, her sandals were sinking into the mud, and she’d lost her hairpiece somewhere along the way, but Rei Amamiya was doing her best to keep a serene expression on her face as they maneuvered through the woods. She was the Ultimate Kabuki Actress, after all; she had to maintain her poise and elegance at all times. Even when her stomach growled.

“O-Oh, my Lady!” Her companion was kneeling down next to her almost immediately, and she gave a soft sigh. Sho Kawashima was well-meaning and earnest, she knew, but he took his role as Ultimate Samurai far too seriously. This was the 21st century, not feudal Japan; he didn’t need to go around in full lobster-red and mauve plate armor, his bush of brown hair tied in an attempt at a top knot but there being so much of it that it just fell down his back anyway. Besides, he was embarrassing. “Are you hungry? I brought some emergency rations in my bag. If you would lower yourself to such things-”

“I ate them already,” she responded with an empty sort of smile on her face. They’d been hard trail-snack types of pretzels, but she’d ate them. “I simply have a fast metabolism. Don’t worry yourself to death over me.” 

“But my Lady, is it not a samurai’s duty to worry?” Sho stood back up from his kneel, not bothering to brush the mud off his purple shin-guards. “If you are hungry, then I am honor-bound to scavenge this forest to find suitable nourishment for you!” 

“There is no need to do that.” She was still smiling at him, though anyone with common sense could tell it was painted on. “We’ll be in and out of that mansion Sal was talking about, right? I can eat when we get back to the campsite.” 

“I-If you really think that you will be okay…” Sho sighed through his teeth as he turned back to the path, his hand resting on the hilt of his (fake) sword. “That Sal...I know that she means us no harm, but she is certainly the reckless type.” 

“Quite. Sometimes I feel bad for Kobayashi, being dragged around all the time by a girl like that.” Rei folded her hands into her kimono sleeves, the picture of calm even as she had to yank her geta out of the mud yet again. “Though I suppose we’re all being dragged around by her now.” 

“Unfortunately.” Sho’s tone was resigned, almost, though not altogether annoyed. “Let us simply retrieve those who went before us and return. This courage test is ridiculous, anyway.” Rei hummed, letting him decide if that was an agreement. 

The mansion wasn’t too hard to find, really. The trees were old and tall, but the upper floors still reached past the canopy. The pair approached the entrance slowly, Rei having to halt as Sho held out a hand to stop her and tested each step of the porch to ensure she wouldn’t fall through the rotting wood and hurt herself. 

Rei smiled, a bit more genuinely this time, and tilted her head to the side with her long black hair falling like a curtain around her shoulders. Sho may be overbearing at times, but he meant the best. 

That smile faltered slightly as a scream echoed out from just beyond the front door; a girl’s scream, a familiar one. “...I believe that would be Nozomi.” 

“Lady Shrine Maiden!” Sho had bolted to attention at the scream, as though the sound physically forced his spine straight. With the shout of a warrior charging into battle, he slammed into the door, it miraculously not splintering as he barged inside the mansion.

“Oh, Kawashima…” Rei could do nothing but follow after him; she knew very well that if he wasn’t reminded the samurai would entirely forget that he was meant to fetch the others. Her smile twitched into something like a grimace as her muddy sandals gathered the dust off the floor. 

“Wait, don’t let the door-!” But Noriko’s words came too late. The actress hardly made out the sound of the lock clicking behind her, with how much ruckus Sho was causing by stamping the spider that had startled Chinatsu into the floorboards. The archer sighed through her teeth, slowly lowering herself back down onto the step she’d half-stood from. 

“Four more groups.” Sal’s tone was still nonchalant, still not concerned over the growing number of people joining them in their imprisonment. “Let’s see, who’d be most likely to not get stuck here too...Jules, maybe...Yukari, definitely…” Her words dissolved into mutterings as she reclined at the top of the staircase; nobody paid her any mind. 

“My Lady, I apologize…” Sho’s face was tense with shame, not meeting her gaze as he dutifully wiped away at a spot on the steps. “It is my fault that we also have ended up trapped. The very least I can do is provide a clean place for you to rest.”

Rei’s smile was painted on her lips. “I am not sitting down in this moth-eaten hellhole.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: Six more characters introduced. We hope that you like them, and the eight more that will come with the next chapter.
> 
> Natsu: Thank you for waiting! Hope we can introduce the second half of the cast soon.
> 
> Here's the list of who's who for this chapter if you didn't catch it the first time:  
> Hayato Kaneshoto, the Ultimate Hunter  
> Rin Miura, the Ultimate Luckster  
> Minako Miyaguchi, the Ultimate Librarian  
> Chinatsu Nozomi, the Ultimate Shrine Maiden  
> Sho Kawashima, the Ultimate Samurai  
> Rei Amamiya, the Ultimate Kabuki Actress


	3. Introductions, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's difficult coming up with this many ways for kids to be stupid and walk into a mansion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: The second chunk of kiddos has arrived, let's see if they're still likable. 
> 
> Natsu: I'm surprised we cranked this one out faster than we thought. Then again, we shouldn't be making you wait for the second half of the cast for another month or so.

Some would say it’s fate, others will say it’s irony. To Jules Lucas, the Ultimate Mime, this was a living hell.

The forest was meant to be quiet and peaceful. One must take in the sounds and the sights that Mother Nature offered. However, this was certainly not the case.

“...synthetic sponges are made with petroleum products, which is harmful to the skin. Not to mention it also contains plastic. Natural sea sponges, however, are eco-friendly and super soft! They last way longer than those fakes that you get at a drugstore...” This was probably why no one talked to Haru Matsuzaki, the Ultimate Telemarketer, during lunch. The Ultimate Surfer was more tolerable than him. 

“...That is if you care for your natural sponge. I can give a good deal on a cleaning kit so you don’t have to worry about mold. I might offer you two for the price of one...” Haru continued. Could he not read the mood at all? First off, he was talking to a mime while they were most likely walking in a giant circle. Jules swore he saw that same moss formation ten minutes ago. Secondly, this was supposed to be a rescue mission. If this went on any longer, they’d be the ones who needed rescuing.

He knew from experience that Sal had a habit of pulling shenanigans like this. In fact, he felt a little sorry for that archer friend of hers and her inability to turn down the energetic girl. Surely she’d be wary of her in the future. Maybe he’d tell her so after he caught his annoying classmate, who’d quickened his step at the sight of a house that was in obvious shambles. 

“Looks like nobody’s home,” Haru said as he peeked through every dirty window he possibly could with his short legs. “I bet there’s some buried treasure in here...I could probably sell it for double the initial value if I’m able to salvage it. Oh, and you can get a slice of the reward too, as my humble eyewitness.” Could it be possible that Telemarketer was just a nicer way of saying Con Artist?

“Hey Jules, would you give me a boost to that window over there?” On second thought, maybe he was just a regular burglar that weaseled his way into the academy with that tacky suit of his. 

Not in the mood to argue with his classmate, Jules bent his knees as he grabbed Haru by the waist. He gave the smaller boy no time to brace himself as he hoisted the telemarketer up to the window. The glass panes were either shattered or completely missing, from what Haru saw. Thankfully there was a hole  _ just _ the right size for his hand to go through and unlock the sash lock inside. Sure enough, it took a lot more muscle to move the old and rusted lock. 

“There we go…” Haru muttered as he carefully pulled his hand back. Using both of his free hands, he forced the stile high enough for him to get inside. What he didn’t notice was the loud grating it made when the old wood rubbed against the frame for the first time in possibly years. The window quickly slammed back down right after the small telemarketer heaved his way in. The noise was loud enough that Haru didn’t catch the conversations coming from inside the house.

_ “Did you hear that?” _ _  
_

_ “I think it’s coming from over there. Sho, Noriko, grab your things and come with me.” _

Meanwhile, Jules let out a sigh in relief. He rubbed his gloved hands together to somewhat ease the strain of the sudden weight they had to lift. His mind had already started to conjure up insults as he walked to the front door, like any normal person would. Quietly the mime pushed the door in, just in case there actually was someone or some _ thing _ living here, and couldn’t believe the sight he saw.

The very man who was so confident in breaking and entering through the window was on the floor at the mercy of the musket, strung arrow, and wooden sword pointed at him.

“I said I was sorry! I couldn’t just use the front door!” Haru whined.

“That doesn’t give you the right the scare our asses off!” Hayato yelled back. “Your mime buddy was smart enough to use the door, why couldn’t you?!”

Noriko perked her head up. “Wait, did you just say ‘use the door’? Oh no!” It was, once again, too late. She only took three steps before the door locked itself back into its original place behind Jules. 

“Sorry, I thought I had it…” she said quietly. 

“There’s no need to be sorry, Lady Noriko,” Sho reassured her. “The door is cursed by humidity. Not even my blade can slice through it.” 

“Your blade couldn’t slice through a block of cheese, you know?” Sal retorted. Rin mewled something about wanting cheese.

Hayato, ever disappointed, lowered his musket from his terrified classmate. “Damn it. Just...damn it. Guess it’s up to Yukari and Phil to save our sorry asses now.”

“You’re forgetting Daisuke and Ayame!” Minako yelled from the other side of the room. 

“Ayame isn’t who I’m worried about, it’s that stupid pervert she’s partnered with…”

 

~

 

“Ah~, this forest is so beautiful when the sun’s just starting to rise! I wonder, will an elven prince finally come to take me away~?” He honestly had no clue who she was even talking to at this point. 

The two of them had been wandering the forest for at least two hours now, if his watch wasn’t wrong, but Ayame Mokino hadn’t stopped talking that entire time. Every single word out of her mouth went right over his head, and he very well knew the Ultimate Seamstress wasn’t addressing him...or anyone, probably. 

Daisuke Sugimoto let out a sigh through his nose, setting his back straight even if he was exhausted from their endless walking. “Ayame, we need to find the mansion sooner or later. There’s no guarantee the others could find us if we stay out here for much longer.” He said every word with an authority befitting of the Ultimate Debater, trying to break through her half-sane ramblings about elves and how a pure maiden like herself could probably attract all the animals to her with her voice. He didn’t succeed. 

Well, he thought, Ayame wasn’t the worst person to be stuck with. At least he hadn’t been put with Haru. At least she had assets. Two very large assets. 

Even if she was mostly looking right through him, he still took the precaution of averting his gaze when she turned in his direction. It wasn’t his fault she was...distracting. Was she even wearing a bra? If she was, it wasn’t doing its job.

“Ah, to bathe in the first rays of the dawn~!” At that point he’d had to dodge out of the way of her dizzy sort of swaying...only for Daisuke to step on mud that hadn’t dried enough to be solid and falling back-first into the brush.

“A-Ah, Daisuke!” It was the first time since they’d paired up that she’d even really noticed him. Her lilac ponytail flew behind her like a banner as she rushed to his side, brown eyes quivering with guilt and worry. “I-I’m so sorry! I got distracted again, didn’t I? I’m sorry…” 

“It’s fine.” It really wasn’t; the entire back of his suit had gotten mud splattered on it and he was half-certain he hit his head on a rock, but when she was giving him that look he couldn’t complain. “Besides, you’re always distracted.”

Ayame paused, then gave a sheepish grin as she placed a hand on her cheek. “Well, I guess that’s true~...”

Daisuke had to get up on his own; Ayame had already returned to her dream world. At least as he leaned back trying to wipe off some of the mud, he finally saw an old roof peeking over the treeline. There was that stupid mansion Sal had sent them on a wild goose chase for. The translator was undeniably cute, but a good butt could only alleviate some of his annoyance. “Ayame, up ahead.”

He was only half-sure the seamstress heard him. Regardless, she followed him well enough as he pushed the brush aside to approached the front steps. 

The place was dilapidated, the roof starting to cave in on itself and the windows either boarded up or too dark to see in through. Still, Daisuke couldn’t say the mansion was abandoned, as he could very clearly hear his classmates bickering inside. 

_ “H-Hayato, please stop pointing that thing everywhere! Can’t you just wait for the others?”  _ That was Rin’s voice, its normal excitable confidence wavering. Several thunks followed, before a second voice spoke.

_ “I’m sick of waiting while people keep stumbling in here! I don’t care how strong this wood is, nothing’s tanking a shot from this close.” _ A rhythmic sort of clicking was nearly drowned out by Rin’s protests, joined by several others, but he had enough context to figure out that Hayato planned on using his musket to shoot the door down. Daisuke would’ve been fine to let that trainwreck play out on its own...except for how Ayame had wandered past him and was loitering outside the door. At that close a range, there was no way a musket shot wouldn’t at least hurt her. 

“Ayame!” His body had moved before he realized it. Daisuke charged up the stairs, one hand extended to pull the seamstress out of harm’s way. His fingers only brushed the threads of her sweater as she casually opened the door and moved to the side on her own, staring in confusion when the debater was unable to stop in time and fell into the mansion. He’d only had enough coordination to avoid falling directly on top of Hayato, though he did still knock the small hunter onto his back in the process.

“D-Daisuke! Hayato!” Ayame was overreacting; he was barely hurt, and he knew better than to think Hayato could be taken out by something like that. Still, he didn’t complain when the seamstress cradled his head in her lap, his vision being obscured by waves of pleated fabric. “I-I’m sorry, I messed up again…!” From her voice alone, he could guess she was pretty close to crying.

“Forget about that, the door!” Hayato hardly seemed fazed; in one move he’d leapt to his feet again, ready to charge out the mansion...only for the door to have closed itself. “God  _ damnit!” _

“Seriously, you freak out too easily, you know?” The woman of the hour was reclining on the staircase railing, somehow managing to keep her balance even as her hair dangled off the edge. “I’m telling you, it’s the humidity. Once the sun comes up, we’ll be able to leave no problem.” 

“If it was humidity, the door wouldn’t open from either side!” Almost in a huff, Hayato planted himself back onto the stairs, as far from Sal as he could manage. “Can’t stand people like you...Talking over everyone else…” If Sal even heard him, she didn’t show it.

“Eheheh, Ayame...You don’t have to keep holding him like that, I think he’s fine…” It was Chinatsu who spoke, even if he could only tell by the curled ends of her dark brown pigtails hanging down into his vision. Ayame shook her head...or her entire body, rather, as Daisuke was shifted side to side along with her. 

“I-It’s okay, Chinatsu...It’s my fault he got hurt…” Ayame paused, before her hand slid up onto her cheek again. “Daisuke charged in like a gallant white knight to protect me...I feel like a princess~!” 

Needless to say, Daisuke ended up dropped onto the floorboards soon enough. 

 

~

 

“Yukari! We’re getting mud on our good shoes!”

“I already told you not to bring your ‘good shoes’ on this trip in the first place.”

“You know we need to look good no matter what.” Yukari didn’t even bother sighing. She already knew trying to talk sense into him was like arguing with a brick wall.

At least she’d been smart enough to dress sensibly...even if it was what she always wore. Brown heavy work boots that didn’t stain easily were much better than those, for lack of a better term, ballet slippers that Yuuma Chigusa was wearing. Yes, he was the Ultimate Figure Skater, but that didn’t mean he had to wear sequined silk shoes even when hiking through a forest. 

Maybe her profession made her less ‘girly’ about things like that. Yukari Iida had always been a more practical girl, caring more about the utility of her outfits for her work than any fashion sense. The Ultimate Butcher had messy work, so her dark apron and checkered shirt with the sleeves tied up at her biceps was a much better choice than a skirt and blouse. Even her cropped dark red hair, in curls but only reaching the bottom of her ears, was styled with her work in mind. 

Not because Yuuma said she looked cute this way. She wasn’t that kind of girl.

Sal, however, apparently took Yuuma’s words as fact instead of the casual flirts they were, seeing as she’d paired the two of them up for this ‘courage test’ of hers. Yukari had seen the self-satisfied look the translator had flashed her before turning into the woods with her partner and disappearing; she clearly knew what she was doing. Though if she was basing her choices on such shoddy things as that, she would have had just as much reason to pair her with Koji, an equally stupid flirt. 

Yukari looked ahead, at Yuuma cursing as he pulled his foot from the mud again. Thinking that way, either option was bad. 

“...Ah, Yukari, up there? You can see the roof, right?” It was true; an old rotting roof reached just over the treeline ahead of them. 

“Of course I can.” The roof was still slick from the rain, after all, and the dim sunlight reflected off it. “...Was that a joke about my height?”   
“...No?” She shoved him slightly when she walked past him. 

The smell hit her when she was within a few feet of the mansion. Rotting, and not just the wood. Something had died in here. A lot of things. “...Yuuma, we shouldn’t be here.”

“What are you talking about? This is the place Sal said to go.” She shouldn’t blame him too much, his sense of smell wasn’t as good as hers, but that didn’t excuse him brushing her aside to go up the steps anyway. Only her hand grabbing the edge of his (very tight) sleeve stopped him from getting too far. 

“I said that we shouldn’t be here.” Yuuma blinked at her over his shoulder, apparently not expecting her to take it this seriously. “It’s dangerous here.”

After a second of silence, Yuuma responded to her with a dazzling grin, far brighter than the sun above them. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, with us here with you!” She was about to protest when he gently cupped either side of her face, leaning in a bit too close. “You hear us, Yukari? We’ll protect you.” 

She knew the claim was utterly ridiculous. Yuuma had a lot of stupid bravado, but he was not a fighter; if anyone actually tried to hurt them, he wasn’t going to be protecting her any time soon. But even so, her heart sped up.

“...Fine. But only for a minute.” His face lit up in a vibrant smile, and he gently took hold of her wrist to lead her up the stairs and into the mansion. 

The smell didn’t get any better once they were inside. If anything, it multiplied, the rotting stench nearly choking her. Even if she was more sensitive than the average person, there was no way Yuuma or the other twelve students littered around the hall couldn’t smell it. 

But apparently, her companion was content to ignore it, instead choosing to step forward and call for Sal up on the staircase. The translator lifted her head, her eyes focusing on them quickly before moving behind them. “Uh, the door-?”

A soft click came from behind them, soon followed by a loud string of swears from Hayato. Sal blinked slowly, like she was processing. “...Well, now we might be in trouble.” 

“You think?!” The hunter was already at the end of his fuse, his face turning red at the cheekbones as he glared up at her. “Maybe if you’d realized this place was dangerous earlier, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” 

“Hey, I said we  _ might be _ in trouble, you know?” Sal shrugged and rolled over on the carpet, apparently not minding as dust billowed off of it and into her face. “We still have Phil and Koji...and Teach too. Being overly negative isn’t gonna do us any favors here.” Hayato broke down into muttered complaints, something along the lines of him being the ‘exact amount of negative needed,’ but he sat back down on the bottom step regardless. 

“So we’re locked in.” Yukari’s eyes scanned the other students, Minako and Chinatsu huddled together, Daisuke trying not to look up Sal’s skirt from his angle and failing miserably, Rei’s body being racked with tremors as she tried to reassure Sho that this was normal for her. “...I told you we shouldn’t have come in here.”

“Oh, cheer up, Yukari!” Yuuma tried to push up the corners of her mouth, but her eyes remained firmly frowning. “We told you, we’ll protect you!”

She felt her cheeks heat up, just a little bit. “...Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

 

~

 

The principal was going to kill her once he found out Chie couldn’t keep track of her students on this field trip. It was for situations like this that she’d wanted to have the current generation’s Ultimate Detective, but instead she got an Ultimate Paranormal Investigator...the next best thing, she guessed. If anyone knew where her students were disappearing to, it would be him. Chie would’ve gone out and track them down herself, but it’d been ages since she proudly held the title of Ultimate Girl Scout.

Currently she was treading behind the last two students to leave the campsite, Koji Ashida and Philip Spade, the Ultimate Surfer and Paranormal Investigator respectfully. Philip had taken the lead with Koji close behind him. The two were making some small talk in order to pass the time throughout their search for their peers in this somewhat dense forest. With the rain having cleared about half an hour ago, the other students should’ve been wandering outside looking for their teacher. At the beginning, Chie thought the lack of cellular reception would be a good thing for the students. As time went on, she started to regret that decision more and more. 

“Phil, are you sure you know where they are?” The investigator in front of her tilted his fedora down over his eyes, even though he still turned his head to look at her.

“Well...my dear teacher...I do believe…”

“Phil, stop that.”

He froze at her words, ice-blue eyes widening...before he ran a hand through his white hair. “...S-Sorry, Ms. Rumiko. It’s a bad habit.” 

“Like you’re just gonna stop doing it on the spot, my dude,” Koji retorted.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Phil started his answer again, “the rest of the class should be holed up in the so-called Hope’s End mansion. There’s enough space for everyone to be sheltered from the rain, but I’m certain they’ll be cold. It’d be better if we found them as soon as possible.”

“And that’s where Sal told us to go anyway.” Phil choked on his own spit at Koji’s remark, and Chie’s brow narrowed. 

“...Well, I guess it doesn’t matter why they’re there, as long as we get them back.” The investigator’s shoulders noticeably relaxed. “Do you know where the mansion is?”

“I think it’s that thing, my dude.” The surfer raised up a tanned finger to a sloping roof peeking over the treetops ahead of them. “Can’t imagine there’s that many old houses in this forest.”  

Even from the back, Chie could practically feel the excitement radiating from Phil. She couldn’t blame him; old houses like this were his trade, after all. Still, she couldn’t let him get too ahead of her...is what she’d like to say, but he’d already rushed up the steps and was easing open the rotting door. “Phil, calm down!”

He was too fast for her. By the time she and Koji had made it to the door, Phil was already inside, being met with a chorus of shouts. So the other students were inside the mansion, after all. 

Koji followed her inside as Chie walked through the doorway, doing a quick headcount of the students littered around the foyer and giving a sigh of relief. All fourteen were accounted for. 

“Ms. Rumiko, don’t shut the door!” Chie was already a few feet inside the house when Hayato shouted at her, but even without her touching it, the door behind her slammed itself closed, the gust of wind it created ruffling her skirt. 

With his hand reached out, the hunter’s face had gone pale, his grassy green eyes dilating before closing. “God...dammit…” Snarling, he turned on his heel and shouted up to Sal, who had sat up from her place on the stairs. “Well?! Are you worried now?!” 

“Oh no.” Sal’s tone was flat as she stared at the door, then glanced over the crowd of students. “...This isn’t good.” Hayato threw his hands up, clearly too frustrated with her to say any more. 

Phil, however, hadn’t seemed to notice the issue. He’d already started wandering around the foyer, checking over every piece of furniture as though looking for some hidden signs of life. 

“Ms. Rumiko…” Rin had started down the steps, her normal smile nowhere to be found as she fiddled with her hands. “Are we in trouble? I mean, we can’t get the door open…” 

Chie gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, Rin. We’ll be out of here in no time-” Her words were cut off all too suddenly as the Luckster passed over the ornate rug at the foot of the stairs...or more accurately, as she fell straight through the floor. “R-Rin?!” 

“Ow, ow ow ow...I-I think I’m okay!” Rin’s voice came from the sizable hole the rug had been covering, half of the carpet hanging down into it while the edge by the stairs was wedged underneath the bottom step. “It’s cold down here, though…” 

Sal had stood up entirely when Rin fell, speeding over to the edge of the hole and looking down. “Rin-” But any words she had died in her throat when she caught sight of the pit’s interior. Her tanned face blanched, and her lips drew into a straight line. “...Rin, don’t look down.” 

“Huh? What do you-?” 

“I said don’t look down!” Sal’s voice barely raised on volume, but the lack of emotion in it gave the impression that she was trying her hardest not to panic. “Hayato or, or Sho, someone get over here to help her out. I can’t, you know.” 

Chie raised an eyebrow, walking over to the edge to check for herself what was wrong...and immediately seeing the problem.

Bodies. Human bodies. Dozens, at least more than a hundred, piled up at the bottom of the hole. Stabbed, bludgeoned, burned...this was a mass grave. And Rin was sitting right at the top of the pile. 

Hayato was the first to respond, his face turning slightly green as he lowered his musket down into the hole for Rin to grab onto. He adamantly didn’t say a word, even as her questions continued. “What’s wrong? Why do you guys look so freaked out? It can’t be that bad, can...it…?” 

Sal’s warnings had ended up ignored. Rin’s baby blue eyes glassed over as she looked around the pit, her body slowly starting to shake and whimpers escalating in volume escaped her lips. “Ah…A-Aaaaaaah!” 

“Puhuhu...Puhuhuhuhuhuhu~…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: Yukari sensed a disturbance in the force, but the power of kuudere lady boners overrides all logic. Anyway, we're gonna get to the actual killing game business next time. Prepare for a mess. 
> 
> Natsu: With introductions out of the way, we can get to the fun part ;3c
> 
> Quick roll call of the people we've met this chapter:  
> Jules Lucas, the Ultimate Mime  
> Haru Matsuzaki, the Ultimate Telemarketer  
> Daisuke Sugimoto, the Ultimate Debater/Debate Team Member  
> Ayame Mokino, the Ultimate Seamstress  
> Yukari Iida, the Ultimate Butcher  
> Yuuma Chigusa, the Ultimate Figure Skater  
> Philip Spade, the Ultimate Paranormal Investigator  
> Koji Ashida, the Ultimate Surfer  
> Chie Rumiko, the Former Ultimate Girl Scout


	4. Monokuma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a bear shows up and nobody's particularly happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: Blame Natsu. It's always her fault if we're delayed.
> 
> Natsu: Looks like our Ultimates have met with a terrible fate, haven't they? I hope they persevere.

The laughter that echoed through the foyer was completely dissonant. High-pitched, playful, yet mocking and cruel. I’d heard it somewhere before, but where? Looking to Sal next to me didn’t give any answers, besides noticing that her face had grown grim. “...Nori, upstairs.” Upstairs? I tilted my head up.

A bear. A black and white bear, the color split down the middle. Patches of fur were missing here and there, and the white was more grey with the dust ground into it, but the figure was unmistakable. “N-No...It can’t be…?” 

“Puhuhuhuhu~!” None of us could speak as the bear kept laughing, seated atop the pile of rubble on the stairs’ landing. “Such starstruck faces! And here I was beginning to worry I wouldn’t get the welcome I deserve~!” 

Monokuma. This was Monokuma, and all of us knew it. But how was that possible? The Tragedy was over fifty years ago, the Future Foundation had wiped out all of the Monokuma robots. But that bear’s image had been in all our history books, that laugh playing in the old news broadcasts we’d been shown in class. It was dirty and old, but this was without a doubt a Monokuma. 

I could see in my peripheral a few of my scattered classmates gathering on the staircase around me: Phil, Rei, Hayato and Rin after he managed to fish her out of the hole behind us. None of us scaled too far, but we were all on the steps. “Wow, a whole seventeen! I haven’t had this many guests in so long! You guys should’ve told me you were coming, I could’ve made myself more presentable~.” 

“T-This is a joke, right? This can’t be real…” It was Minako who spoke, her words muffled by her scarf pulled up over her mouth. Maybe she thought she could stop her trembling by warming up. “This isn’t...real…”

“So sorry, but it’s real! And judging by your faces, you already know what we’ll be playing~!” No. Please, no. “If you want that door to open again, then you’ll have to play my killing game~!” 

All the blood in me froze at once. No, this couldn’t be happening. The Tragedy was over, there were no Remnants of Despair left. So why...why would another killing game happen? 

“I refuse.” Sal’s voice echoed loud and clear in the silence that followed. “You’ll open that door now, and we’ll be leaving. You can’t make us play your game.” 

“I can’t make you?” The bear put a paw to his mouth and tilted his head to the side. “What makes you say that?” 

“You’re trying to copy the Tragedy, aren’t you? But you don’t have the resources to pull it off. You only got us here by luck, and this place is falling apart. Hell, even your robot is in shambles. There’s no way you have anything that can force us into complying.” I’d never seen Sal that angry. Her expression had gone flat, her lips a tight line. “So open the door, or Hayato will shoot you.” 

“You’re damn right I will.” The hunter had already cocked his musket, the butt firmly pressed into his shoulder as he aimed. “I ain’t scared of some half-assed Enoshima wannabe.” 

“The Tragedy? Enoshima?” Monokuma only laughed again. “That’s all in the past! Look towards the future, I always say! Despair is such old hat, anyway. I’m sick of hearing about it!” 

“Then why make us play a killing game? If you don’t want us to despair.” I couldn’t understand how Sal could be so calm in this situation. She was angry, yes, but she didn’t look scared. “What’s your goal?” 

“Down in front! The master of this mansion is speaking, young lady, it’d be best if you learned to show respect!” The bear threw his arms up, but slid back to a seated position quickly. “As I was in the middle of explaining before  _ someone _ interrupted me, I don’t wanna hear anymore about days gone by! This is  _ my _ mansion, and you will play by  _ my _ rules! Unless you wanna end up like her~!” Monokuma waved his paw behind us, and without my input my head turned.

What we were looking at made no sense. It wasn’t possible. It  _ couldn’t  _ be possible.

But Ms. Rumiko’s cold, dead eyes stared back at us all the same. 

“M-Ms...Rumiko…?” I didn’t know who it was that said that; my brain was too busy trying to process what this was. She’d been dropped, it seemed, onto the sword the soldier statue was pointing at the ceiling; her body rested at the hilt, the sword sticking out of her chest. Her limbs dangled around the statue’s head, her mouth and eyes wide open with shock...How could this happen? Nobody heard a thing. How could anyone or anything kill her without any of us noticing? 

“Puhuhu...Who was it that said I don’t have any way to force you all?” I couldn’t even move my head to turn back around. “This is my mansion, and I have absolute control here! You’ll get along nicely and play my killing game, or I’ll add you all to the pile downstairs!” 

Nobody said anything. We were all frozen there, staring up at our teacher’s body. None of this made sense. I kept waiting for someone to come out and yell ‘Surprise!’ but that moment never came. 

“What a bunch of spoilsports. One dead body and you’ve all clammed up! Oh well, I’m sure you’ll liven up in time~!” The bear’s laughter kept ringing in my head. “The killing game rules will be posted at the base of the statue! Now, go and pick out your rooms! We may be a bit short, but I’m sure Ultimate students like you all can figure it out! Do your best~...” With that, he disappeared, leaving us to our stunned silence.

“...S-She’s not...actually dead, is she?” Rin’s voice came only as a whimper. “She can’t really be dead…” 

“Nobody bleeds that much and lives, Rin,” Hayato replied, his tone strong but his expression a bit more than worried. “...We have no choice but to take what that bear said as fact. We’re stuck here, until…”

“Until one of us commits murder.” Sal’s tone was icy, as though she was trying to disconnect herself from the situation. “...If it’s the same as the original killing game, we have to kill each other to get any chance of escaping.” 

“S-Sal, you can’t seriously be considering-” 

“Of course I’m not going to play, Nori,” she cut me off before I could get more than that out. “I’m not killing anyone. We’ll get out of here without playing that stupid game. As long as we all can believe that, we’ll be fine.” 

“...Sal, you were the one who suggested we come here, weren’t you?” Phil spoke for the first time since he’d arrived, his hat drawn over his eyes. “...Did you know this would happen?”

“...Excuse me?” Sal seemed genuinely baffled at the question, her burgundy eyes open wide. “Did I know this- Of course I didn’t know! Why would I get us into this mess? Someone’s dead, you know?” She gestured at Ms. Rumiko’s body, and my stomach lurched. “What kind of person do you take me for?” 

But the damage had been done. I looked over my classmates’ faces, many of them drawn into worried or suspicious glares. Sal wasn’t stupid, she knew what those faces meant, and after a short pause she sighed and went down the steps. “...Whatever. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do to change your minds, you know? I’m...gonna go find a room.” With that, she disappeared down the right-hand hallway. 

The looks of my classmates started to get to my nerves. The only sounds coming from any of us was the wood moaning under Sal’s feet and the blood dripping on the floor behind me. I couldn’t be here. I couldn’t stand being alone. With that thought alone, I chased after Sal, leaving behind the now suffocating air in the main room. 

“What? I expected you all to go for a little longer than this without me,” Sal said nonchalantly without looking at me.

“This...This isn’t the time for that!” I told her. “I just…I…” I couldn’t hold back a cough from fighting back a dry heave. 

“...You didn’t want to look at Teach, huh.” She hadn’t said it as a question. “...Honestly, neither did I.” 

“H-How can you be so calm about this? I-I mean…” I didn’t have it in me to say what happened as bluntly as she had earlier. 

“Do I look calm to you, Nori?” Finally she turned to look at me, and I noticed immediately how pale her face was, the way she was worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “...I’m terrified. I just know that panicking won’t get us out of here…you know?” 

“You’re...you’re right,” I admitted. “We...we need to stay calm and think things out. We can’t play along with that killing game.” 

“Now you’re getting it.” Sal gave a solemn nod then turned away from me again, heading down the hall; I hurried after her, instinctively keeping one step behind her. “The big questions right now are ‘Who’s doing this’ and ‘why’. All I can figure out about the first is that it can’t be Enoshima.” 

The name alone shot chills up my spine. “You’re right...Enoshima died over fifty years ago. So...is it a Remnant of Despair?”

“No, it can’t be that, either. That bear said it earlier, right? He doesn’t care about despair anymore. Would a Remnant really say something like that?” Sal paused for a second to think. “...So it’s probably someone who’s unaffiliated with the Ultimate Despair. I guess getting a Monokuma robot and hacking it wouldn’t be that hard...but it doesn’t tell us who this mastermind is.” 

Phil’s words from earlier rang through my mind, and I shuddered. “You don’t think...it’s one of us, do you?” Sal didn’t respond right away, and I immediately started backtracking. “I-I mean, I believe in you, Sal. There’s no way you’re the mastermind, but...is it possible that…”

“No, it’s not.” She still sounded measured. “Like Phil said, I was the one that brought us here, and while I don’t expect everyone to believe in me I know I’m not the mastermind. If it’s one of us, then that person would’ve had to manipulate me into setting this up, but I found out about this place on my own. Plus, all those bodies...whoever’s been doing this has been at it for a long time. None of us could sneak away from school that much.” 

“You’re...you’re right.” I felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest. “So we don’t have to doubt each other...it’s okay to work together, right?” 

“As much as we can, with the killing game going on.” With just those words, I felt numb once again. “But still...I just can’t understand why.” 

“Why...whoever this is would make us play the killing game?” Sal nodded.

“If it’s not despair like Enoshima wanted, then why? It doesn’t make any sense.” The translator tilted her head back towards me. “The only reasons I can think of are holding us for ransom, or...this is just some sadistic bullshit.” 

“Someone’s doing this for  _ fun?” _ I almost hoped it was the first option. 

“...Yeah, that makes the most sense. I mean, I don’t think the one controlling Monokuma knew we were coming, you know? So getting info on all of us to even hold a ransom would be difficult.” She audibly swallowed. “Most likely...someone’s actually living in here, and they just play killing games with whoever happens to walk in.” 

“That’s…” Horrible, I wanted to say. Terrible, pointlessly cruel. But all the words I had were caught in my throat. Sal seemed to understand me all the same, and gave a slight nod. 

“This isn’t gonna be a game of hope and despair like the Tragedy was. This game is life and death, that’s all.” She slowed to a stop, turning back to me. Her face had regained its color, her burgundy eyes hardened. “I don’t know about you, but...I don’t plan on dying here.” 

Even under such frightening circumstances, seeing her look so confident stoked bravery in me as well, and I straightened myself a bit. “...Yeah. There’s no way we’re going to play Monokuma’s game.”

A proud sort of smile lit up Sal’s face, but it faded away within seconds. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. But still, until we find a way out of here…” she let out a sigh, “I guess we have no choice but to listen to that bear. Let’s get first dibs on the rooms.” 

“Okay…” 

We were in the left wing from the entrance; whether that was the east or west wing was beyond us. Walking up and down the halls showed that every door was identical, different only in how the wood had rotten. Sal and I peeked into the two rooms on the other end of where we started, and sure enough all seven doors appeared to be guest rooms of some kind. The room I looked into seemed to have the basic amenities. A neatly-made bed was pressed against the wall, a nightstand with a lantern on top settled next to it; a chair tucked into an empty desk sat opposite. Across from me at the back wall was a second door; I could only assume it was a closet, but I wasn’t about to claim that room in particular just to find out.

“How about we try getting rooms that are close to the main door?” I asked. However, a loud banging echoed from around the bend to the foyer. It sounded like...hammering? Did everyone else group up to break down the front door without us?

When we walked over to that corner again, a small feeling of disappointment welled up inside me. Instead of some kind of battering ram, it was only Yukari on a small step stool beating a nail with a piece of paper stuck on it into the door. Rin was leaning on the wall behind her. 

“Um…” While it sounded pretty weak, it was all I had to say to get their attention.

“Hey~!” Rin pushed herself off the wall and approached us. “Did you two find anything cool?”

“N-Not really. All these rooms looked practically the same. Sorry…” I replied over the loud hammering. 

The strawberry blonde leaned in, her curls so close they were tickling my nose. “Can you repeat the last part?”

“I said I’m sorry!” I shouted. To my misfortune, Yukari had just finished pounding the nail when I got those words out. My face burned as I shuffled behind Sal in embarrassment. She glanced down at me, but was able to pick up the conversation despite its awkward transition.

“What were you guys doing, anyway?” 

“Rin wanted to follow you guys and dragged me along. When we turned the corner, you were already gone.” Yukari stepped off the stool as she explained. “Figured we could investigate these rooms to find any clues you guys might’ve overlooked. A few of the others went over to the other hall to see what they could find. My guess is that it isn’t much different from this wing, though.” 

“Yea, but my room has this decked out writing desk with a drawer LOADED with paper!” Rin interjected excitedly. “It even has those fancy fountain pens and quills and inkwells from way back when! I also found brushes, but I’m not very good with calligraphy. Then I thought of this super cool idea to mark who lives where, so~….” She proceeded to waggle her hands in the direction of the piece of paper Yukari had nailed to the door. Sal and I leaned in to see a rather crude self portrait of the Ultimate Luckster. You could see the smudges of where she’d messed up or tried to wipe the ink away before it dried. In an odd way, it suited her. Then again, our hopes of living close to the main door had been crushed by sheer luck.

Sal moved her attention back to the Ultimate Butcher. “Say, Yukari...where did you get all that, anyway? I didn’t see anything like that around, you know?” 

“Oh, these?” She raised the hammer up a bit, nudging the step stool with her foot. “Found these in the room right next to Rin’s, which I guess is my room now. Got a mason jar full of nails in various states of decay right on my desk. That’s where I found these too. I don’t know what the other rooms have.”

“This house is pretty old. I wouldn’t be surprised this stuff belonged to past residents,” Sal commented. “Anyways, I’ll let you two go back to what you were doing.”

“Uh...See you guys soon!” I said.

“It better be soon. I’m going to work on Yukari’s portrait and after that is you two. I can’t draw people from memory.” Rin was able to shout those final words at us before we turned and disappeared around the corner. Two rooms booked, only five left.

Wait a minute. Our class was sixteen kids with an equal split between boys and girls, but there were seven rooms on each side, assuming the other wing was the same. Therefore, two people on each side would have to buddy up. I was sure the girls would be okay since Minako and Chinatsu were dating already, but I was a bit worried on how it would go over with the boys. 

I decided to take the next room closest to the door, just around the bend in the hallway; Sal claimed the room to the left of mine. It would be awhile before Rin could get to my, um, ‘caricature’, so maybe there was something inside that would be useful. 

My room was no different from the one I looked into before. There was no paper or pile of miscellaneous tools to be found. Instead, this room had a small bundle of rope on the desk and a book titled “A Sailor’s Guide to Knotting” sitting on the nightstand. They...had opportunities to make that title sound less suggestive.

The other door led to a walk-in closet, but before I could go in and properly look around something suddenly jumped into my face. I let out a scream and, without looking, threw my fist out in front of me. I heard a startled shout of pain as it connected and the thump of someone falling to the floor. Wait...someone?

“Oh crap!” I yelled after opening my eyes. On the floor clutching her knee was none other than Sal. Did I break something? Was she okay? Why was she in my closet? “Sal, I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t realize it was you, I just-”

“Don’t worry about it.” She let out a pained chuckle. “Those archer arms don’t fuck around, you know?”

After I calmed down, I was able to ask her what was she doing in my closet.

“Your closet? Actually, I thought the same thing, but there’s a pretty big room back there with five other doors besides ours, you know? It’s probably a communal closet, or a dressing room...then I had a smart idea of trapping you with a leg kabedon, and you can see how that worked out.” I helped her get back on her feet while she explained all of this. She was probably trying to get me to laugh or something, but I was still a bit shaken by the whole killing game scenario. Not exactly in the best mood for laughing.

I was pretty sure I’d looked at everything that needed to be looked at for the time being. Still, I was curious on how the others were doing, especially the boys. How had they divided up their rooms?

When I opened the door back to the hallway, I immediately heard footsteps heading in our direction,  _ fast _ . Like a racehorse, Phil rounded the far corner, and as he slowed down he clutched the wall with one hand and tried to catch his breath.

“Nori...Noriko, I heard screams. Are you okay?” he managed to say. 

“I’m fine. Sal just scared the shit out of me,” I replied as I felt my face turning a bit red. “Did I really scream that loud?”

“I was...I was on my way to get you...anyway.” Phil cleared his throat before continuing. “Everyone’s waiting for you guys over in the foyer. Daisuke wants to make an announcement.”

“Have any ideas on what it is?” Sal asked.

“I...have a hunch.”

He escorted us back the way he came. Meanwhile, my mind was busy trying to figure out why we all needed to be together again to hear this. Did Daisuke have a plan? I just hoped that whatever the Ultimate Debater had to tell us, it would be something positive for once.

 

~

 

It felt like my classmates were always out to surprise me.

Lo and behold, Daisuke was standing at the base of the stairs, atop what I’d assumed at a distance was a chair. When I managed to see through the forest of arms and shoulders, I realized he was standing on some _ one _ rather than some _ thing. _

“Oh, come ooon!” Haru groaned under the weight, both his arms and legs threatening to buckle. “Why me?” 

“I’m so sorry, Haru,” Rin responded. Did I really want to know what happened?

A few of the others looked over at us, but they quickly went back to whatever they were doing, either talking to their peers or continuing to watch the spectacle in front of them. Daisuke too glanced up after regaining his balance on his unstable ‘podium’.

“About time you found them, Phil!” he yelled. “Did you find anything over there?”

“Unfortunately...no. From what I saw, both dormitories are practically identical,” the investigator responded.

“W-Wait, what’s going on? What are we looking for?” I asked nervously. 

“Didn’t you realize something was missing?” Daisuke looked down at me. His brow was furrowed, arms crossed over his chest. “We don’t have a dining hall, or a kitchen. Long story short, we have no food.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt: Did y'all really think we were going to have seventeen characters playing the game? That sounds an awful lot like effort that we are not willing to give.
> 
> Natsu: Don’t you hate when things go from bad to worse? Me too.
> 
> Anyways, next chapter is going to be Free Time Events! This can’t be a fangan ronpa story without free time events after all! Anyway, lemme lay out the rules:  
> -You can vote for up to four different characters (So you can’t put all your votes to Sal, for example). The top four students will get to spend time with Noriko next chapter.  
> -There’s no gachapon in this story since, you know, what haunted house you know has a capsule machine full of trinkets? In other words, spending time with someone leads to an automatic FTE.  
> -If your favorite student dies, that's not the end! We're pre-writing FTEs for everyone, and plan to mass-post them once the main story's over in a sort of "Camp Mode". 
> 
> Place your votes in the comments below! We can't wait to see who the favorites are!


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